Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-06-17
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BYH,RDER HAGGAND,
@RsrotsaN1s sol0n,oHyuces ShSEs

~ was out attending a poor fellow who
was shot through the lung, and that fool of a
woman waited for me to come back, instead
Of following. l have brought you an orderly
instead of her. BY Jove, he has bledl sup
pose the silk has slipped. WE'LL there is only
one thing for it. Orderly, the chloroform."
And then followed another long half hour
OF slashing and tying and horror, and when
at last the unfortunate John opened his eyes
again he was too weak to speak, and could
only smile feebly. For three days after this
he was in a dangerous state, for if the artery
had broken out for the third time the chances
were that having so little blood left in his
veins, he would die before anything could be
done for him. At times he was very delirious
from weakness, and these were the dangerous
hours, for it was almost impossible to keep
him quiet, and every movement threw jess
into an agony of terror lest the silk fastenings
Of the artery should break away. Indeed,
there was only one way in which she could
keep him quiet, and that was by laying her
slim white hand upon his forehead or giving
1t to him to hold. Oddly enough, this had
more effect upon his fevered mind than any
thing else. For hour after hour she would
sit thus, though her arm ached and her back
felt as if it were going to break in two, until
at last she was rewarded by seeing his wild
eyes cease their wanderings and close in
peaceful sleep.
Yet with it all that week was perhaps the
happiest time in her life. There he lay, the man
she loved with all the intensity of her deep
nature; and she ministered to him, and felt
that he loved her, and depended on her as a
babe upon its mother. Even in his delirium
her name was continually on his lips, and
generally with some endearing term before
it. She felt in those dark hours of doubt and
sickness as though they two were growing life
to life, knit up in divine identity she could
not analyze or understand. She felt that it
was so, and she believed that, once being SO,
whatever her future might be, that COM
munion could never be dissolved, and there
fore was she happy, though she knew that his
recovery meant their lifelong separation. For
though jess had once, when thrown utterly
off her balance, given her passion sway, it was
not a thing she meant to repeat. She had she
felt, injured Bessie enough already in taking
her future husbands heart That she could
not help now, but she would take no more
John should go back to her sister.
And SO she sat and gazed at that sleeping
man through the long watches Of the night
and was happy. There lay her JOY. Soon he
would be taken from her and she would be
left desolate, but while he lay there he was
hers 1t was passing sweet to her won,ans
heart to lay her hand upon him and see him
sleep, for this desire to watch the sleep of a
beloved object is one of the highest and
strangest manifestations of passion. Truly,
and with n keen insight into the human heart,
has the poet said that there is 10 joy Ike the
Joy of a woman watching what She loves
asleep
The time went on and the artery broke out
no more and then at last came morning
when John opened his eyes and watched the
pale, earnest face bending over him MS though
he were trying to remember something Pres
emily he shut his eyes again He had remen-
bered.
a have been very i'll, Jess he said, after
pause.
ayes, John"
"And you have nursed mes'
ayes, John"
"Am going to recoverP
"Of course You are"
He shut his eyes again.
81 suppose there is no news from outsider
"No more; things are just tie same"
"Nor from BessieN
"None; we are quite cut Off"
Then came pause.
"John," said jess, II want to say something
to you. When people are delirious, or when
delrium is coming on, they sometimes say
things that they are not responsible for, and
which had better be forgotten"
"Yes," he said; ~ understand"
$50" she went on, in the same measured
tone, 1--WE will forget everything you may